Written Answers Thursday 8 February 2007

Scottish Executive

Air Services

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with British Airways and the British Airports Authority regarding the impact of the proposed sale of BA Connect to Flybe on local employment and the local economy.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive, at both ministerial and official level, is in regular contact with airlines and airport operators about a wide range of matters.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive after how many 999 calls for an ambulance it took more than an hour for a crew to attend in each year since 2000, broken down by Scottish Ambulance Service division and also expressed as a proportion of 999 calls for an ambulance over the same period.

Mr Andy Kerr: The figures requested are listed in the following table. The Scottish Ambulance Service rolled out a priority based dispatch system during 2002-04, so the figures from 2000-03 relate to all 999 emergency calls and the figures from 2003-06 relate to Category A (life-threatening) and Category B (serious but not life-threatening) calls. In 2005-06, the ambulance service responded to all Category A calls in an average of 8.4 minutes.

  Number of Responses Over One Hour and Proportion of 999 Calls

  

Division
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Number
Proportion
Number
Proportion
Number
Proportion


North East
6
0.03%
5
0.02%
8
0.03%


North West 
9
0.10%
11
0.12%
11
0.11%


East Central
14
0.02%
9
0.02%
27
0.05%


West Central
10
0.01%
62
0.06%
56
0.06%


South East
9
0.02%
3
0.01%
31
0.06%


South West
23
0.04%
9
0.02%
15
0.03%



  Number of Responses Over One Hour and Proportion of 999 Calls

  

Division
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Number
Proportion
Number
Proportion
Number
Proportion


North East
5
0.02%
3
0.01%
1
0.04%


North West 
13
0.13%
15
0.15%
14
0.12%


East Central
11
0.02%
13
0.02%
17
0.02%


West Central
51
0.05%
41
0.04%
96
0.09%


South East
18
0.04%
9
0.02%
27
0.04%


South West
33
0.06%
30
0.06%
34
0.06%



  Note: Information supplied by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of 999 calls for an ambulance where it took more than an hour for a crew to attend subsequently resulted in the patient dying (a) on the way to hospital and (b) within five hours of arrival at hospital in each year since 2000, broken down by Scottish Ambulance Service division.

Mr Andy Kerr: This information is not available.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many qualified ambulance personnel there were in each year since 2000, broken down by Scottish Ambulance Service division.

Mr Andy Kerr: The whole-time equivalent number of paramedics and technicians employed in each Scottish Ambulance Service division from 2000 is listed in this table:

  

Division
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


North East
184.0
185.0
185.0
216.3
215.3
216.3


North West
203.4
205.8
205.8
217.8
199.1
199.1


East Central
311.5
321.5
321.5
348.7
350.7
372.0


West Central
384.5
408.5
406.5
464.0
458.0
468.0


South East
284.5
288.5
288.5
310.0
310.0
317.0


South West
399.0
398.0
393.0
434.0
445.0
481.0



  Note: Information supplied by the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Bridges

Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has anent the number of occasions in each of the last seven years on which the Erskine Bridge was closed to all types of vehicles because of severe weather conditions.

Tavish Scott: The number of occasions when the Erskine Bridge has been closed to all types of traffic since 1 April 2001 because of severe weather conditions is set out in the following table:

  

Year
Number of Closures
Dates and Times of Closures


2001
0
-


2002
1
28 January – no times available


2003
1
28 January - 06.00 to 09.55


2004
0
-


2005
2
11 January 19.45 to 12 January 20.0011 November 15.20 to 12 November 07.00


2006
3
26 October 14.30 to 17.303 December 19.00 to 4 December 14.3031 December 20.00 to 1 January 06.00


2007
3
3 January 23.00 to 4 January 14.0010 January 23.00 to 12 January 01.3013 January 15.30 to 14 January 03.00



  Transport Scotland has operational responsibility for this matter and can be contacted for more information if required.

Child Protection

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the First Minister’s apology on 1 December 2004 to those who, as children, suffered abuse and neglect in residential care homes, it welcomes Fife Council’s decision not to use the defence of time bar in cases of compensation claims for historic institutional child abuse.

Hugh Henry: It is for each local authority to decide how to respond to individual claims in the light of all relevant circumstances of each particular case.

Child Protection

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the First Minister’s apology on 1 December 2004 to those who, as children, suffered abuse and neglect in residential care homes, it will recommend to local authorities that they do not use the defence of time bar in cases of compensation claims for historic institutional child abuse.

Hugh Henry: It is a matter for local authorities to decide how to handle claims that are brought against them.

Communities

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had, and with whom, about the services provided by One Plus in Lanarkshire.

Des McNulty: The Executive has been in contact with a number of organisations regarding the services provided by One Plus. The main point of contact has been South Lanarkshire Council.

Communities

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken, or will take, to secure the future of One Plus in Lanarkshire and the services it provides.

Des McNulty: One Plus is now in liquidation and local authorities and other funders are taking the lead in finding new providers for One Plus services. The Executive has been informed by South Lanarkshire council that each of the four child care services operated by One Plus reopened under new management on 29 January 2007, following a short period when cover was provided by the local authority in co-operation with other providers.

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding has been provided to One Plus in each financial year since 2000-01.

Des McNulty: Payments made to One Plus by the Scottish Executive since 2000-01 are listed as follows:

  European Structural Funds (ESF) (Objective 3 ESF programme, Objective 2 West ESF programme, European Regional Development Fund programme) Payments to One Plus

  

 
£


2001
1,277,766


2002
1,288,278


2003
1,608,415


2004
2,114,847


2005
2,828,927


2006
1,957,082


2007
43,965


Total
11,119,280



  Note: ESF payment statistics are compiled by calendar year.

  Communities Scotland and Social Inclusion Project Funding

  

£
Communities Scotland
Social Inclusion Project Funding
Social Inclusion Project Funding Shared Equally with One Parent Families Scotland


2003-04
 
105,387
 


2004-05
250,000
120,346
150,000


2005-06
95,593
303,187
150,000


2006-07
 
157,738
150,000


Total
345,593
686,658
450,000

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has appointed KPMG to carry out an independent investigation into the accounts of One Plus and, if so, what the cost of the investigation is estimated to be.

Des McNulty: No. KPMG has been appointed by One Plus as the liquidator.

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what contingency measures for families and children affected by potential care disruption it developed with those local authorities that work with One Plus.

Des McNulty: The Executive worked with local authorities to ensure that they had an opportunity to consider what contingency measures would be appropriate. The contingency measures put in place by each local authority varied, but in the main concentrated on whether alternative providers would be able to pick up services at short notice if One Plus ceased trading.

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it first discussed contingency measures for families and children affected by potential care disruption with those local authorities that work with One Plus.

Des McNulty: The Executive drew the attention of local authorities to the possible need for contingency measures in mid December 2006. Local authorities were contacted on 14 December 2006 or shortly thereafter.

Communities

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive why families and children have been left without care provision if contingency measures to address potential care disruption were in place to ensure continuity of services through providers other than One Plus.

Des McNulty: The Executive worked closely with local authorities to ensure there was scope for contingency plans to be put in place. Some disruption was inevitable in the circumstances surrounding the liquidation of One Plus but I would like to congratulate local authorities and voluntary sector organisations for their efforts in ensuring this was held to a minimum.

Concessionary Travel

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioners in Clydesdale receive free concessionary bus travel.

Tavish Scott: Statistics are only available by local authority area and cannot be broken down to reflect the number of cardholders within particular parliamentary constituencies.

  However, at 31 January 2007 the number of national entitlement cards, which give an entitlement to Scotland-wide free bus travel, issued to South Lanarkshire Council residents over the age of 60 was 47,959.

Concessionary Travel

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many 16 to 18-year-olds will be eligible for a concessionary travel card.

Tavish Scott: Approximately 200,000 16 to 18-year-olds will be eligible for the Scotland-wide concessionary travel scheme for young people.

Concessionary Travel

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many disabled people in Clydesdale receive free concessionary bus travel.

Tavish Scott: Statistics are only available by local authority area and cannot be broken down to reflect the number of cardholders within particular parliamentary constituencies.

  However, at 31 January 2007 the number of national entitlement cards, which give an entitlement to Scotland-wide free bus travel, issued to South Lanarkshire Council residents with a disability was 9,104.

Concessionary Travel

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration it has given to establishing a reciprocal public transport concession scheme with the government of Northern Ireland.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive has given no consideration to establishing a reciprocal public transport concession scheme with the government of Northern Ireland.

Council Tax

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has powers to provide council tax rebates to service personnel serving abroad and, if so, whether it will consider providing such assistance.

George Lyon: The Scottish Parliament may legislate to create exemptions from council tax for specified groups of people. Scottish ministers supported the Prime Minister’s announcement in October 2006 that he would look into providing support for the council tax costs of service personnel on operations overseas. Discussions between officials from the Department of Communities and Local Government and the Ministry of Defence, which have also involved officials from the Scottish Executive, about how best to provide support for the council tax costs of service personnel on operations overseas are on-going.

Dentistry

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to expedite access to NHS dentists in Moray and across Scotland.

Lewis Macdonald: We have agreed capital funding of almost £2 million for new NHS dental services in Elgin, Buckie and Keith, and in addition NHS Grampian are working with the RAF to provide a further new dental service in Lossiemouth later this year. As well as developing direct NHS dental services in many areas, we are also encouraging high street dentists to continue or come back to treating all categories of patient on the NHS, with additional new funding worth upwards of £25,000 per practice per year.

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have been deemed to be no longer NHS-committed as a consequence of at least 10% of patients not visiting them in the last 15 months, broken down by NHS board.

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many dentists have been deemed to be no longer NHS-committed as a consequence of at least 10% of patients not visiting the dentist in the last 15 months, where all other criteria are met, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: Information as to why each patient whose registration as an NHS patient has ceased is not held centrally.

Dentistry

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the policy which means that dentists are no longer considered to be NHS-committed as a consequence of at least 10% of patients not visiting the dentist in the preceding 15 months is helping retain access to NHS dentistry for patients.

Lewis Macdonald: The policy which the member describes is not the policy of the Scottish Executive. It is, however, the policy of the Scottish Executive to require dentists within NHS committed practices to maintain their registration base, unless there are exceptional circumstances, in order to ensure that the additional resources we have provided are focused primarily on practices which treat all categories of patients on the NHS.

Emergency Services

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents involving people trapped in moving water have taken place in each fire and rescue service area in each of the last five years and how many of these incidents have resulted in deaths.

Johann Lamont: This information is not held centrally.

Equal Opportunities

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to promote full religious equality and an end to institutionalised discrimination.

Rhona Brankin: Discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief is now unlawful in employment and training and in the provision of goods, facilities and services. The Executive’s Equality Strategy published in 2000 made clear our commitment to promoting equality for all and tackling prejudice and discrimination. Among other things, we have mechanisms in place to allow for regular dialogue with all Scotland’s faith communities, and as part of the Executive’s mainstreaming equality programme, departments must assess the impact of their policies or proposed policies on faith/religious groups and the results must be published.

European Union

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30630 by Nicol Stephen on 19 January 2007, when the assessment referred to will be completed.

Patricia Ferguson: Work on the assessment referred to in S2W-30630 continues, involving Executive Departments, Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and a number of other public and private bodies. I expect some conclusions to emerge during this year, although follow up and connected work will continue.

  All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

European Union

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it consults its EU Office in respect of its policy on genetically modified crops.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Executive policies on GM issues are set by ministers in Scotland. The Scottish Executive EU Office in Brussels provides Scotland-based officials with information on EU developments, including those relating to genetically modified crops.

European Union

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often, and on what dates, from (a) 1999 to 2003 and (b) 2003 to 2007 an Executive official has been a member of the UK delegation to meetings of the EU Council when issues relating to genetically modified crops and foods have been on the agenda.

Sarah Boyack: GM Issues have been identified in the business of the under-noted Council meetings, but this list may not be exhaustive because agendas can change and issues relating to genetically modified crops and food may be raised during discussions of other items. The Executive does not keep comprehensive records of official attendance at Council meetings, but it is normal practice that an official is present at both the Agriculture and Fisheries and Environment Council.

  

Council
Council Date


Environment
June 1999


Agriculture and Fisheries
September 1999


Environment
October 1999


Environment
December 1999


Environment
October 2000


Environment
December 2000


Agriculture and Fisheries
February 2001


Environment
March 2001


Environment
June 2001


Agriculture and Fisheries
October 2001


Environment
October 2001


Environment
December 2001


Environment
March 2002


Environment
June 2002


Agriculture and Fisheries
September 2002


Environment
October 2002


Agriculture and Fisheries
October 2002


Agriculture and Fisheries
November 2002


Environment
December 2002


Agriculture and Fisheries
February 2003


Environment
March 2003


Agriculture and Fisheries 
March 2003


Agriculture and Fisheries
May 2003


Agriculture and Fisheries
July 2003


Agriculture and Fisheries
September 2003


Agriculture and Fisheries
April 2004


Environment
June 2004


Agriculture and Fisheries
July 2004


Agriculture and Fisheries
October 2004


Environment
December 2004


Agriculture and Fisheries
Feb 2005


Environment
March 2005


Agriculture and Fisheries
April 2005


Agriculture and Fisheries
May 2005


Environment
June 2005


Agriculture and Fisheries
September 2005


Environment
October 2005


Agriculture and Fisheries
October 2005


Environment
December 2005


Agriculture and Fisheries
December 2005


Environment
March 2006


Agriculture and Fisheries
May 2006


Environment
June 2006


Agriculture and Fisheries
September 2006


Environment
October 2006


Agriculture and Fisheries
November 2006


Environment
December 2006

European Union

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how often, and on what dates, from (a) 1999 to 2003 and (b) 2003 to 2007 a Scottish minister has been a member of the UK delegation to meetings of the EU Council when issues relating to genetically modified crops and foods have been on the agenda.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Executive ministers have been in attendance at the following Council meetings when issues relating to genetically modified crops and foods have been substantive items for discussion.

  

Date
EU Council
Minister


13-14 December 1999
Environment
Sarah Boyack


26 February 2001
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


8 March 2001
Environment
Sam Galbraith


23-24 September 2002
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


14-15 October 2002
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


17 October 2002
Environment
Ross Finnie


27-29 November 2002
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


20 February 2003
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


13 June 2003
Environment
Ross Finnie


26 April 2004
Agriculture
Allan Wilson


18 October 2004
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


26 April 2005
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


30 May 2005
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


19-20 September 2005
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


24 October 2005
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


19-21 December 2005
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


22-23 May 2006
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


27 June 2006
Environment
Rhona Brankin


23 October 2006
Environment
Rhona Brankin


20-21 November 2006
Agriculture
Ross Finnie


18 December 2006
Environment
Ross Finnie



  Further information on ministerial attendance at Council meetings can be found on the Scottish Executive website at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/International-Relations/Europe/Page6.

External Relations

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people subscribed to each issue of Scotland-Now since March 2006 and what the cost is of producing this e-magazine.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive engages with the Scottish diaspora to further Scotland’s interests for the long-term benefit of our economy and society. Scotland-Now showcases modern Scotland as a great place to live and work, visit, study and invest.

  We communicate regularly with the diaspora, alumni and people with an affinity towards Scotland electronically through regular updates. The first edition of Scotland-Now (http://www.scotland-now.com) the e-magazine which is specifically aimed at the diaspora audience, was published in March 2006.

  The weblink to Scotland-Now is currently issued to over 78,000 individuals. Five thousand, four hundred and seven subscribers register direct and, additionally, subscribers to partner organisations, including the globalscot network, Talent Scotland, AncestralScotland, VisitScotland, Scottish Networks International (SNI), various alumni associations, and Rampant Scotland, also receive updates on an individual basis.

  The average cost per edition of Scotland-Now is £8,737.65. This represents a cost of approximately 0.11p for every individual who receives the weblink.

Fatal Accident Inquiries

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice will meet parents whose son died, having been wrongly prescribed methadone, to discuss their concerns about the operation of fatal accident inquiries and the legal basis of methadone prescribing guidelines.

Cathy Jamieson: Firstly, I would like to express my sympathy to the family for their loss. Decisions on prescribing any form of treatment, including methadone, are ultimately ones for a clinician after considering the circumstances of the patient. The guidelines which underpin these clinical decisions are currently being reviewed across the UK.

  Decisions on whether or not to hold a fatal accident inquiry are matters for the Crown Counsel, taking into account all the factors involved. While it would be inappropriate for ministers to intervene directly in an individual case, we are always prepared to look at how the system that underpins fatal accident inquiries can be improved.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering providing ferry services with support through aid of a social character instead of direct subsidy and, if so, what stage its consideration has reached.

Tavish Scott: I refer to member to the answer to question S2W-30068 on 14 December 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Finance

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in respect of its estimates in Government Expenditure and Revenues in Scotland (GERS), what total revenue has been raised from (a) income tax, (b) corporation tax (c) national insurance contributions, (d) value added tax, (e) business rates, (f) council tax and (g) petrol duty in each year since GERS was first published.

Mr Tom McCabe: The following table shows the latest estimates which are consistent with figures in the Government Expenditure and Revenue in Scotland (GERS) 2004-05 publication. Estimates for earlier years are available in earlier GERS publications, but these are not directly comparable. All estimates are subject to future revisions.

  Estimates of Elements of Government Revenue in Scotland 2000-01 to 2004-05 (£ Million)

  

 
Income Tax
Corporation Tax
National Insurance Contributions
Value Added Tax
Business Rates
Council Tax
Fuel Duty1


2000-01
7,281
2,569
4,963
4,698
1,578
1,284
1,447


2001-02
7,671
2,380
5,179
5,022
1,671
1,387
1,328


2002-03
7,810
2,108
5,312
5,101
1,705
1,459
1,290


2003-04
8,265
2,062
5,972
5,647
1,706
1,532
1,323


2004-05
8,914
2,422
6,461
5,949
1,813
1,615
1,313



  Note: 1. Petrol Duty is included as part of Fuel Duty in the table – separate estimates for Petrol Duty are not available.

Flooding

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has received an application from Dumfries and Galloway Council for funds to undertake flood prevention at the Whitesands in Dumfries and, if so, when it will make a decision about allocating funds to this project.

Sarah Boyack: Grants are available to local authorities at 80% of eligible costs for confirmed flood prevention schemes. In the first instance it is for a local authority to bring forward flood prevention schemes. Dumfries and Galloway Council has not approached the Executive to confirm a flood prevention scheme for the Whitesands in Dumfries and neither has it applied for funding for any such scheme.

Flooding

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether funding for flood prevention can be allocated for the installation of temporary or demountable flood barriers.

Sarah Boyack: Flood prevention schemes incorporating demountable flood barriers are being taken forward by some Scottish local authorities. Subject to the confirmation of such schemes by the Scottish ministers, the Executive will consider the grant eligibility of the component parts of a scheme, including demountable barriers, on a case-by-case basis.

Flooding

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage the testing of demountable and temporary flood barriers in order to assess whether they can be used in areas such as the Whitesands in Dumfries.

Sarah Boyack: Although the Executive has not encouraged or funded the testing of demountable and temporary flood barriers, information on a range of proprietary barriers is provided on the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s Floodline website at http://www.sepa.org.uk/flooding/protection/index.htm .

  Importantly, demountable and temporary flood barriers can only work successfully in areas where there is sufficient warning time to enable such defences to be put in place. In the first instance it is for Dumfries and Galloway Council to discuss with its consulting engineers if this is an appropriate solution for the Whitesands area of Dumfries.

Flooding

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will seek information from the UK Government about its testing of demountable and temporary flood barriers and, if so, whether it will make such information available to Scottish local authorities.

Sarah Boyack: The Scottish Executive works closely with its counterparts in the UK Government to ensure the free flow of information between the two administrations. Demountable defences have been used to good effect on the River Severn and I would expect the Environment Agency will be happy to share their experiences with Scottish local authorities.

Fuel Poverty

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimate is of the number of households living in fuel poverty in both actual and percentage terms and what the comparative figures were for 1997 and 1999.

Rhona Brankin: The latest available estimate from the Scottish House Condition Survey, for the year from October 2003 to September 2004, is that 328,000 households in Scotland (14.5%) were in fuel poverty. Estimates are available only for the years for which house condition surveys were conducted. In 1996, 738,000 households (35%) were estimated to be in fuel poverty. In 2002, 286,000 households (13%) were estimated to be in fuel poverty.

  These are estimates derived from a sample, so they have an associated confidence interval within which the true value will lie. The 95% confidence intervals for 2003-04 and 2002 are 14.5% +/- 2% and 13% +/-0.5%. Given these ranges, the estimated increase in fuel poverty between 2002 and 2003-04 is not statistically significant.

Further Education

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the Scottish Funding Council about the current position at James Watt College.

Allan Wilson: The Scottish Executive has been in regular discussion with the Scottish Funding Council on the current position of James Watt College.

  Along with the Chair of the Scottish Funding Council and others, I visited the college only last week to hear first-hand about the college’s plans to address its difficulties. I intend to hold regular future meetings with the Scottish Funding Council and the college.

Health

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS Lanarkshire would have been legal entitled to exclude non-GP companies limited by shares from the recent tendering process for GP medical services in Harthill.

Mr Andy Kerr: It is for NHS Lanarkshire to make arrangements for the provision of primary medical services in its area, and to consider, and comply with, all legal requirements in doing so.

Justice

Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is satisfied that the law pertaining to asset seizure in drug-related cases is being evenly applied.

Elish Angiolini QC: Yes, we are satisfied the law in this area is applied evenly.

  The law enforcement agencies are using the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act to great effect. I announced earlier this week, a total of over £10 million has been recovered through criminal confiscation. In addition another £4.5 million has been recovered or forfeited under the civil recovery provisions or cash seizure process.

Land

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-30408 by Mr Tom McCabe on 19 January 2007 and irrespective of the ownership of the land, how much (a) vacant and (b) derelict land it estimates exists in Scotland.

Des McNulty: Estimates of the amount of vacant and derelict land in Scotland, as reported by local authorities in the voluntary Scottish Vacant and Derelict Land Survey (SVDLS) 2006, are set out in the following table.

  Area of Vacant and Derelict Land (hectares), Scotland, 20061,2,3

  

Derelict Land
7,480


Vacant Land
2,905



  Notes:

  1. Sites covering less than 0.1 hectares are excluded.

  2. The figure for Vacant Land covers vacant land that is located within settlements of over 2,000 in population (as defined in council local plans). A limited number of councils surveyed for vacant land within some or all of their settlements below 2,000 in population. Within this more limited survey, a further 118 hectares of vacant land was identified across Scotland.

  3. The SVDLS is not a statutory survey. For those councils that did not provide data for any particular year, data from the previous SVDLS has been used.

  Information from the 2006 survey was published on 31 January 2007. This can be viewed on the Scottish Executive website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/01/30094119/0.

Marriage

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it will take to support projects such as FOCCUS, provided by Scottish Marriage Care, for people contemplating marriage.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive supports a wide range of organisations through the unified voluntary sector fund. This includes substantial support for a range of activity carried out by Scottish Marriage Care. Applications for funding from April 2007 are currently being assessed and ministers expect to make an announcement shortly.

Public Transport

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what expenditure has been incurred on public transport schemes in each of the last three years, also expressed on a per capita basis and broken down by local authority area.

Tavish Scott: The Executive does not hold information on public transport scheme expenditure in the form requested. The Executive provides funding both for specific public transport projects, which in certain circumstances may be for a work programme involving a number of different elements rather than a single identifiable physical project, and for general allocations to recipients such as local authorities and regional transport partnerships which can be used for public transport purposes.

  The majority of such expenditure over the last three years has been distributed by grants paid under section 70 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001. Details of these are contained in the annual reports to the Scottish Parliament, copies of which are available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. numbers 22114, 28193, 33166, 36946 and 39974).

  Information on local government gross expenditure on public transport can be found in table 4a of the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics annual publication: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/01/09093510/0.

  Population details for calculating per capita expenditure are available from the General Register Office for Scotland  http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk.

Public Transport

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many bus journeys were undertaken in each of the last five years in each local authority area, also showing (a) year-on-year and (b) overall percentage changes and national totals.

Tavish Scott: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-30445 on 21 December 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Research and Development

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to work with businesses to improve investment in research and development and reach the targets set out in the 2004 Spending Review, following the publication of Business Enterprise Research and Development 2005 on 30 January 2007 which shows that business research and development (R&D) accounts for 0.59% of GDP.

Allan Wilson: The Executive is working closely with the business community to help improve our position with regard to business expenditure on research and development. In the six year period from 1999 to 2005 it is worth noting that Scottish Business Enterprise Research and Development 2005 (BERD) has increased by 29% in real terms as compared to the UK increase of 3%

  There is a comprehensive pipeline of business support from SMART, through SPUR and SPUR+ to Co-investment Fund and SVF and we are simplifying R&D grant schemes. We are also fully committed to the Intermediary Technology Institutes which have now commissioned 19 leading R&D projects involving over £115 million funding. We have a world-class science-base and are focussed on encouraging the formation of new science and technology based businesses in Scotland.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the A82 trunk route connecting to the A9 through Inverness is in all respects satisfactory for today’s needs and the traffic flows projected for the next decade.

Tavish Scott: The A82 through Inverness is similar to many major roads going through a city and is affected by peak time delays. The Strategic Transport Projects Review will consider the future needs of strategic transport corridors and links between them.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the traffic flow projections are for the A82 trunk route connecting to the A9 through Inverness for the next decade.

Tavish Scott: Traffic flow on the A82 trunk road through Inverness is monitored on the section from Rose Street roundabout to college roundabout. The Annual Average Daily Flow (AADF) in 2006 was 29,387. National Road Traffic Forecasts presume an annual increase in traffic flows of 1.53% between 2006 and 2011 and 1.48% between 2011 and 2016.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from the Highland Council on the question of the adequacy of the A82 trunk route connecting to the A9 through Inverness and whether representatives of the Executive have met the Highland Council in the last five years to discuss this issue.

Tavish Scott: No representations have been received from Highland Council about the adequacy of the existing A82 trunk road through Inverness. Highland Council has commissioned the Inverness South Connectivity Study which is a Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidelines (STAG) appraisal of the transport options for this route. At the invitation of Highland Council an official from Transport Scotland sits on the working group to represent trunk road interests in relation to the connections between the Inverness Southern Distributor Road and the existing trunk road network.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what examples there are of it or its agents working in partnership with local authorities to jointly provide a new or upgraded road to meet local and national trunk road needs in which the resultant road was designated as either a local or trunk road and which designation was used.

Tavish Scott: Recent examples include the A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, the M74, Completion and the M77/Glasgow Southern Orbital. Transport Scotland is also working in partnership with North Ayrshire Council in relation to a proposed improvement at The Den on the A737 trunk road and with Falkirk Council on the provision of slip roads at Glenbervie on the M876. Apart from the Glasgow Southern Orbital road these roads are part of the trunk road network.

  The Scottish Executive has previously made a limited number of grants available under section 70 of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2001 in part funding of local roads projects such as the Western Isles Spinal Route.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any impediments in law, or any other impediment not within the discretion of a minister to decide, which would prevent it or its agents responsible for trunk routes working with a local authority and jointly funding new or upgraded roads’ infrastructure which meets both national and local interests simultaneously.

Tavish Scott: There are no impediments.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, where a trunk route has been detrunked and the route remains in use for local needs and the local authority adopts responsibility for that route, the extra miles of local road created will be recognised as route length for grant purposes to the local authority concerned in subsequent revisions of grant aided expenditure calculations.

Tavish Scott: Road lane length data is used in the distribution methodology to allocate resources to local authorities through the local government finance settlement. The most up-to-date data available from local authorities at the time of each three year settlement is used in calculating grant shares and any changes where a trunk road is detrunked and adopted by a local authority would be reflected in the calculations.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has ever considered whether the southern distributor road in Inverness is suitable to be upgraded to a level appropriate for adoption as a trunk route or whether it has any plans to consider the issue.

Tavish Scott: Neither the Executive nor Transport Scotland has yet undertaken any technical appraisal of the case for upgrading this route to trunk road status.

  The effectiveness, or otherwise, of the A82 as a strategic route, and the need for alternatives to the existing route through Inverness will be considered as part of the STPR and this will include consideration of the work undertaken by Highlands Council on the Inverness Southern Distributor Road. At this time we would also consider any issues regarding trunking or detrunking any part of the network.

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been asked by the Highland Council to adopt the southern distributor road in Inverness as a trunk route and take over the existing A82 trunk route connecting to the A9 through Inverness; if so, what its response has been and, if not, what its response would be to such a request.

Tavish Scott: No approach has been made. My response would be in accordance with my answer to question S2W-31314 on 8 February 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Roads

Peter Peacock (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Highland Council has considered the adequacy of the connections between the southern distributor road in Inverness and the A9 around the southern boundary of Inverness and whether the Executive considers that the current connections are suitable for trunk road purposes.

Tavish Scott: Highland Council are currently carrying out the Inverness South Connectivity Study into possible improvements to the Inverness Southern Distributor Road (ISDR), including its connections with the A9 trunk road. This study is programmed to be completed in autumn 2007. An official from Transport Scotland is on the working group to represent trunk road interests in relation to the connections between the ISDR and the existing trunk road network.

Roads

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what (a) amount and (b) percentage of (i) Angus and (ii) Aberdeenshire councils’ budget has been spent on local road maintenance in each year since 2003.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive supports local authorities’ net revenue expenditure through the core local government finance settlement.

  The information provided in the following table gives the Scottish Executive’s Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) element calculated for roads maintenance as part of each council’s block allocation and compares it to their net revenue expenditure.

  However, the setting of budgets is a matter for the individual councils and these may vary from the allocation figures shown in the table if, for instance, the council supplements the GAE allocations from its own resources. As the Scottish Executive does not hold data centrally on actual council budgets it is therefore not possible to provide the information requested on the amounts and percentages in relation to the budgets of the two local authorities.

  Local Roads Maintenance: GAE Allocation and Net Revenue Expenditure

  

 
Aberdeenshire Council
Angus Council


Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation
  (£ Million)
Revenue Expenditure
  (£ Million)
Grant Aided Expenditure Allocation
  (£ Million)
Revenue Expenditure
  (£ Million)


2003-04
11.085
13.744
3,804
2.441


2004-05
11.444
13.172
3.905
2.772


2005-06
11.875
12.585
4.052
6.973


2006-07
14.698
-
4.999
-



  Notes:

  1. Sources for Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) are the GAE Green Books for 2003-04 to 2006-07.

  2. Revenue expenditure is sourced from Local Financial Return (LFR) 5, completed by local authorities, which covers local roads maintenance net revenue expenditure. Expenditure figures for 2006-07 are not yet available.

  3. Revenue spending may differ from the allocation amounts for a number of reasons. First the allocations given above are neither budgets nor spending targets for local roads maintenance. They are simply a component used in distributing the total block grant that the Executive provides to local authorities. Second, it is for each local authority to decide how best to allocate the resulting overall block grant across all its services, based on local needs and priorities.

  4. The increase in 2005-06 expenditure figure for Angus Council relates to reclassification of expenditure previously recorded as construction.

Schools

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it takes to ensure that sportscotland guidelines are adhered to in PPP new-build school projects.

Hugh Henry: Both the Executive and local authorities fully acknowledge the need for good quality school sports facilities. The Executive emphasises to authorities the importance of direct engagement with sportscotland in considering school developments. It is, though, for authorities themselves to address and decide on the specific requirements for sports facilities at any new school, taking account of all relevant guidance and other considerations.

Scottish Executive Staff

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1999, broken down by recruitment agency.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Scottish Executive currently has two central contracts for the provision of agency staff. Administrative and clerical staff are supplied through a contract placed with Pertemps. A contract is also in place for the provision of interim managers and specialist staff with Hays. For the period from 1999 to 2003 a central contract for the supply of typists was in place with Kellys agency.

  Individual departments may bring in temporary staff from employment agencies outwith these contracts, for example where specific professional skills are required, or to cover work in outlying areas, but this information is not held centrally.

  Employment agency staff are used by the Executive to cover temporary staffing needs for a number of reasons including pressures arising from maternity leave, sick leave, project work, unanticipated crisis and critical vacancies.

  The amount paid by the Scottish Executive for the hire of temporary staff, under the two centrally managed employment agency contracts and the contract with Kellys, is set out in the following table.

  

 
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006


Pertemps
£944,393
£1,072,929
£1,070,579
£2,047,308
£3,221,652
£4,115,492
£3,132,755


Hays
 
 
 
£2,611
£1,031,187
£2,474,056
£2,316,461


Kellys
£128,563
£171,215
£213,603
 
 
 
 


Total
£1,072,956
£1,244,144
£1,284,182
£2,049,919
£4,252,839
£6,859,548
£5,449,216



  Notes:

  1. The Hays contract started in November 2003.

  2. The contract with Kellys ended in early 2003.

  3. All figures are for core Executive except Pertemps figures which include spend for Mental Health Tribunal, Social Work Inspection Agency and Transport Scotland for the period since they were formed. Pertemps spend to mid 2004 includes spend by Accountant in Bankruptcy, HM Inspectorate of Education, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, General Register Office for Scotland, the National Archives of Scotland, and Local Government Boundary Commission.

  4. The 2000 figure for Pertemps includes spend over a relatively short period in 1999.

Transport

Margaret Smith (Edinburgh West) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Strategic Transport Appraisal Guidance is being taken into account in the evaluation of a further Forth crossing and when a decision will be taken.

Tavish Scott: The Forth Replacement Crossing Study which is currently underway is using the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) to appraise the emerging options.

Wildlife

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has any plans to cull the red deer herd on Rum and what the reasons are for SNH’s position on the matter.

Sarah Boyack: Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has no plans for a reduction cull of the red deer herd on Rum during 2007, only a maintenance cull in line with established practice.

  SNH manages Rum in line with its objectives for the National Nature Reserve (NNR) as set out in its management plan.

  The current 10-year NNR plan was agreed in 1998, and a new plan is due for agreement in 2008. As part of the process of producing the NNR plan, SNH will undertake a consultative exercise to draw together future objectives for the reserve. The process will involve the Rum community, independent advisers, representative groups with an interest in Rum, and others.